Whole foods can boost mental health and wellness: UCalgary
Posted Dec 24, 2022 12:48 pm.
Last Updated Dec 24, 2022 12:51 pm.
While it’s well-known that a healthy and balanced diet has its benefits, a recent study conducted by UCalgary researchers examines the role nutrition plays in mental health.
Professor Emeritus in UCalgary’s Cumming School of Medicine, Dr. Bonnie Kaplan, has devoted much of her career to clinical research understanding the causes and treatments for neurodevelopmental problems including mental health issues.
Recently, in collaboration with the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, a review was conducted that highlights why nutrition is so important for brain health.
“There are over 50 peer-reviewed scientific publications in the medical scientific literature showing that when we use a broad spectrum of minerals and vitamins to treat mental health problems, there is a very sizable and significant impact for many people,” said Kaplan.
In the past, she says people studied treatment for disease one nutrient at a time. For example, to get rid of scurvy you take vitamin C.
However, this single nutrient for a single treatment approach for curing disease was a false assumption and ineffective. Instead, the researchers have to take a holistic approach to nutrition and physical and mental health and wellness.
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Kaplan adds that if you really want to optimize your brain health, you need to be getting roughly 15 vitamins, minerals, omega three fatty acids, plant nutrients, or phytonutrients that are in crops, protein, and amino acids.
She says there is a direct link between eating nutritious meals and how it impacts your mental health making you more or less susceptible to anxiety or depression.
For example, if you’re feeding your gut with good bacteria including prebiotic foods these nutrients will be taken out of your food and passed into your bloodstream.
Kaplan adds that nearly 20 per cent of our blood flow and the metabolic activity that our brains exert come from our healthy food intake including these key nutrients.
”All of these nutrients are what build our brains. And if you’re looking at young children, especially the omega-three fatty acids, especially DHA, which is one of the metabolites. These are what goes into the cell walls and build the healthy brain cells that we need. And then the ongoing micronutrients being fed to our brains. They are what are called cofactors,” said Kaplan.
Cofactors are organic or inorganic molecules that are needed for enzymes to function. These vitamin components manufacture neurotransmitters so your brain can better function.
“We often hear when people improve their diets, they’re feeding their brain more of those cofactors or they’re taking broad spectrum nutrients. They’ll say the brain fog has lifted. It’s such a common report, their brain has come back online, they can focus better, they can think better,” said Kaplan.
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Given the rising cost of living including soaring inflation these days, Kaplan also says that eating a whole foods diet is not all that expensive so long as you’re following the Canada Food Guide and incorporating the appropriate amounts of fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, and seeds.
“You know, there’s this myth out there that eating a whole foods type of diet is more expensive. And that’s because people haven’t discovered how to make it inexpensive. But there is research that shows that you can save as much as 20 per cent of your weekly food budget,” she explained.
“If you stop eating the ultra-processed chemicals, which are very expensive, it’s just that you’re only putting maybe $2 into the vending machine at a time. But over the course of a week, you’re really wasting a lot of money. Stop eating those.” She also adds that given the fact the majority of pre-packaged and processed food at your local supermarkets contains sugar or added sugar it’s important to wean yourself off of that addiction to artificial sweetness.”
Kaplan says about half the diet of North Americans doesn’t have enough nutrients.
“The ultra-processed foods, the Pop-Tarts, the chips, and the pretzels, have essentially zero vitamins and minerals. So we as a society are voluntarily cutting our vitamin and mineral intake by 50 per cent,” said Kaplan.
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Although there are a lot of diet fads, Kaplan recommends the Mediterranean diet the most.
“If you buy dried beans and lentils, great, that’s unbelievably cheap. If you don’t have time to cook dried beans, you can get them in cans that are still really inexpensive,” she said.
Kaplan adds that given the epidemic of mental health issues emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s more crucial than ever to educate the public on the role of nutrition and the long-term impact on mental health well-being.
Especially, she says, for young people that are going back to campus after a two-year hiatus and surviving on ramen and soda, it’s ill-advised as they won’t be able to pay attention during class lectures or study sessions.
“I personally think that every single person who goes to seek help for the mental health of any kind would benefit, maybe not all of them would benefit, but it would make sense to educate all of them about how what they’re putting in their mouths is influencing their brain health [and] we would have a big impact if we consider that to be sort of a pre-treatment for mental health clinics.”
